In 2020, young people flocked to the polls at an unprecedented rate, with more than half of voting eligible individuals aged 18 to 24 turning out for the general election. As the 2024 election nears, this momentum only continues to grow stronger. Young people are recognizing the power and responsibility that they can hold as active participants in our nation’s democratic system. Voting enables us to voice which issues are important to us and to advocate for and uplift the values that we believe in.
Students at Bryn Mawr College are no exception to this trend; we are passionate and empowered in expressing our beliefs, as well as in amplifying the voices of those whose voices are traditionally silenced. While students are civically and socially engaged year-round in a multitude of ways, elections provide an invaluable platform for young people to vocalize their hopes and aspirations to those who represent them and influence the type of action and policy that these representatives enact.
The role which higher education institutions can play in encouraging their students to be civically engaged members of society cannot be understated. Education extends far beyond the ability to solve complex mathematical problems or interpret scholarly texts. College is a time where young adults come to further develop an understanding of the issues which they care about and make purposeful choices to actively express these concerns as members of a community.
As a first-year student at Bryn Mawr, I have come to appreciate many of the efforts made to encourage students to vote in whichever form they choose, whether via mail-in ballots or in-person voting on November 5.
On October 21, for instance, the Montgomery County Voter Services Outreach branch hosted an event on Taylor Green to assist individuals with both registering to vote and casting their votes early. There have been several other facilitated conversations about the election hosted by the Civic and Career Engagement Center, which are instrumental in providing a space for members of the college to communicate and ask questions pertaining to the election. On election day, a shuttle will be administering free rides to the Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, our polling place, from 8:00 a.m. till 9:00 p.m.
It is apparent that those exerting these efforts have high hopes of boosting voter turnout among students. Yet, I can’t help but wonder if there is more that could be done. One of the most prevalent suggestions for improving voter turnout, among all age groups, is the institution of Election Day as a federal holiday. In his book Our Unfinished March, Eric Holder, a prominent advocate of civil rights who served as Attorney General under Barack Obama, supports the idea that enshrining election day as a national holiday would increase people’s likelihood of voting. He suggests that a national holiday would bring back the excitement and camaraderie previously associated with Election Day and that a more social voting environment would encourage people to cast their ballots. Specifically pertaining to individuals in college – and even more narrowly, to Bryn Mawr students – this could translate into not holding classes on Election Day.
Bryn Mawr students are clearly both intrinsically and extrinsically motivated to be active participants in our nation’s democracy, so it may be difficult to imagine that students would be unable to both attend classes and go out and vote. This is further supported by the surge of individuals requesting mail-in ballots or casting their votes in alternative ways. Current data – three days away from Election Day – suggests that 67 million voters have already sent in their ballots – a number that is equivalent to about 42% of the total vote count during the 2020 election.
However, the removal of this barrier, whether it significantly impacts students’ likelihood of voting or not, sends a symbolic message of the importance of involving ourselves in the process of electing the people who represent us and the issues that we think are worth fighting for. The formal cancellation of classes would drive home the point that voting is something that should take priority.
This sentiment of educational and occupational responsibilities acting as a hurdle for students to overcome in order to be politically engaged, while maybe not as prevalent at Bryn Mawr, is a very real feeling. I’ve had many conversations with out-of-state friends, where they have expressed that they were too busy to have made a voting plan yet, or haven’t really been able to keep up with the election news due to midterms. An analysis by Tufts University’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement of the 2016 election found that 47% of young people enrolled or recently graduated from College who registered but did not actually vote, shared that they did not cast their ballot due to being too busy or having a conflict.
While it is important to vote regardless of geographical location, candidates are focusing much of their efforts on several swing states this year. Candidates are campaigning hard in Pennsylvania, which was the decisive state in the 2020 election. Both Michelle Obama and Kamala Harris are set to hold events in Norristown and Philadelphia, respectively, in the upcoming days leading up to the election. Given that a large number of Bryn Mawr students are voting as Pennsylvania residents, one of the most influential states in deciding the outcome of an election, it is crucial that students understand the value that their vote holds. Not holding classes on Election Day would serve to reiterate this notion.
On a more personal level, Election Day invokes a wave of emotions for many of us – especially being at an institution where most people are engaged with what is going on in the world. A 2024 mental health poll conducted by the American Psychiatric Association revealed that 73% of adults reported feeling anxious about the election. The 2024 presidential election represents a time where the political institutions which govern our country are incredibly volatile, and many of us feel uneasy and anxious about what the future of our country may hold.
Having the space to reflect on how we are feeling about the election, and to connect with others who share those sentiments, is something that yields significant benefits for our mental health. Associate Vice Provost of Temple University’s Health and Well-Being Division advises people to recognize their stresses regarding Election Day, and to practice mindfulness and self-care by spending time with loved ones or setting boundaries between themselves and situations that trigger anxiety. It is essential that we can make time for taking care of ourselves, without the added stress of having to fit coursework into all of that. So much is at stake, and it is essential that we can fully grasp the gravity of that and feel all of those emotions.
Regardless of how invested an individual has been in the election, or what attitudes arise from it, by not holding classes on election day, institutions like Bryn Mawr can send a clear message to students about the impact they can make by casting their votes. Young people represent the future, and our voices matter.
